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Gators upset No. 11 Tennessee 29-16 for 10th straight victory at home in series

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Billy Napier navigated a sea of family, friends and fans waiting to congratulate him on his most significant victory as Florida’s head coach. He shook hands, doled out hugs and even posed for pictures.He was in no hurry to get through the adulation, either.“We’ll celebrate tonight, I promise you,” Napier said.Trevor Etienne ran for a career-high 172 yards and a touchdown, Montrell Johnson scored twice and Florida upset No. 11 Tennessee 29-16 on Saturday night to extend the Volunteers’ losing streak in Gainesville to 10.The victory was the first in a rivalry for Napier, who last year became the first coach in school history to lose to Tennessee, LSU, Georgia and Florida State in the same season. Getting that initial one under his belt should quell outside noise about Napier’s long-term viability with the Gators (2-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference).“It validates your plan, what you’re selling to a degree,” Napier said. “That...

Sweet 16: BC High hopes to solidify return to prominence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

BC High coach Ed Mantie is hoping the third time’s a charm again.After back-to-back sub.-500 seasons to start his coaching career at BC High, Mantie and the Eagles are flying high thus far. An impressive 44-7 win at Reading following a solid 28-21 win over LaSalle (RI) has given the folks on Morrissey Boulevard reason for optimism.“I wouldn’t say we are surprised, but the start certainly validates what we are trying to do here,” said Mantie. “It’s tough to change things, you have to try and get the kids to buy into the new culture. It does seem like the third year is the sweet spot, the kids have a deeper understanding for our system and they are seeing success.”Despite a slow start to the Mantie regime, he refused to let the mounting losses weigh too heavily on him. He felt the Eagles were making small strides and that began to manifest itself over the second half of the 2022 season when they went 4-2 after an 0-5 start.“I never got discouraged, I knew it was goin...

Armed man impersonating officer arrested at Kennedy event

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

LOS ANGELES — A man was arrested at a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. campaign event in Los Angeles on Friday after he allegedly impersonated a U.S. Marshal while carrying a loaded gun, police said.The event took place at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in the 4400 block of West 8th Street, where Kennedy was giving a speech to mark Hispanic Heritage Month by discussing the need for “a comprehensive policy to secure the border and ease immigration pressure,” according to a news release.Police received a radio call at about 4:30 p.m. reporting a man with a loaded gun, a shoulder holster and a badge that stated he was a U.S. Marshal, said J Chavez, public information officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. The onsite security team did not recognize the man as being part of the detail, he said. The man did not brandish a gun or threaten anyone, Chavez added.Kennedy wrote on X that the man had identified himself as a member of Kennedy’s security detail and attempted to approac...

Orioles clinch playoff berth for first time since 2016

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

The Orioles have spent much of Brandon Hyde’s tenure being looked down upon. They’ve spent almost six months craning their necks upward.Sunday, the Orioles clinched their first playoff berth since 2016, the culmination of a rebuilding process that fully launched in the winter of 2018 when Mike Elias was brought in as executive vice president and general manager and hired Hyde as manager to steward a club designed to struggle.They inherited the worst team in the majors, an organization with bad contracts and bad infrastructure. In each of Hyde’s first three years, Baltimore finished with one of baseball’s five worst records, twice losing at least 108 games as his lineups and pitching staffs were littered with overmatched players.The tide unexpectedly began to turn in 2022, when a team projected for another year as a bottom-feeder instead finished as the best team in the American League to miss the playoffs. With the Texas Rangers’ loss Sunday, the Oriol...

Jann Wenner booted from Rock Hall board

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

NEW YORK — Jann Wenner, who co-founded Rolling Stone magazine and also was a co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has been removed from the hall’s board of directors after making comments that were seen as disparaging toward Black and female musicians. He apologized within hours.“Jann Wenner has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation,” the hall said Saturday, a day after Wenner’s comments were published in a New York Times interview.Wenner created a firestorm doing publicity for his new book “The Masters,” which features interviews with musicians Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend and U2’s Bono — all white and male.Asked why he didn’t interview women or Black musicians, Wenner responded: “It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my g...

Tens of thousands march to kick off climate summit, demanding end to warming-causing fossil fuels

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Yelling that the future and their lives depend on ending fossil fuels, tens of thousands of protesters on Sunday kicked off a week where leaders will try once again to curb climate change primarily caused by coal, oil and natural gas.But protesters say it’s not going to be enough. And they aimed their wrath directly at U.S. President Joe Biden, urging him to stop approving new oil and gas projects, phase out current ones and declare a climate emergency with larger executive powers.“We hold the power of the people, the power you need to win this election,” 17-year-old Emma Buretta of Brooklyn and the youth protest group Fridays for Future said. “If you want to win in 2024, if you do not want the blood of my generation to be on your hands, end fossil fuels.”The March to End Fossil Fuels featured such politicians as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and actors Susan Sarandon, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Kyra Sedgewick and Kevin Bacon. But the real action on Broadway w...

Impaired driver plows into crash investigation on QEW, injuring four: OPP

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

Four people were injured after an alleged impaired driver slammed into road crews assisting with a crash investigation on a GTA highway.Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) posted to social media on Sunday saying officers were on scene investigating a collision on the QEW near Winston Churchill Boulevard in Mississauga.It is alleged another car collided with a crash truck that was stopped in a live lane protecting the scene.Photos from OPP show a black sedan with a severely damaged front-end and completely smashed crash truck. Other photos show bottles of alcohol on the floor of a vehicle, one under a driver’s seat and another under a front passenger’s seat.The post from OPP says four people were taken to hospital, including a Ministry of Transportation workers who was at the scene.The driver of the car has been charged with impaired driving.Four people sent to hospital including the @ONtransport worker. #MississaugaOPP were investigating a collision on #QEW/Winston when anot...

Former Colorado officer gets probation for putting woman in police vehicle that was hit by a train

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A former Colorado police officer who put a handcuffed woman in a parked police vehicle that was hit by a freight train, causing the woman serious injuries, has avoided a jail sentence and must serve 30 months on supervised probation.Jordan Steinke, 29, was sentenced Friday by Weld County District Court Judge Timothy Kerns, who found her guilty of reckless endangerment and assault for the Sept. 16, 2022, crash near Platteville. Kerns acquitted the former Fort Lupton police officer of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter after her bench trial in July.Kerns said he had planned to sentence Steinke to jail, but he changed his mind after both prosecutors and defense attorneys sought a probationary sentence, The Denver Post reported.“Someone is going to hear this and say: ‘Another officer gets off,’ ” Kerns said. “That’s not the facts of this case.”He ordered Steinke to perform 100 hours of community service. And if she violates the terms of her probation, “I will ha...

Mike Babcock resigns as Blue Jackets head coach following photo controversy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

Mike Babcock resigned as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, days after Spittin’ Chiclets podcaster Paul Bissonnette accused him of improperly viewing players’ smartphones.Initially, the team, the NHL and the NHLPA were satisfied when captain Boone Jenner and 682-game NHL veteran Johnny Gaudreau indicated there was nothing nefarious with what Babcock did. However, the organizations reversed course when some of Blue Jackets’ younger players said they weren’t comfortable with what had occurred.Columbus officially names Pascal Vincent head coach https://t.co/93pCCWR3VM— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 17, 2023“Upon reflection, it has become clear that continuing as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets was going to be too much of a distraction,” Babcock said in a statement released by the team. “While I’m disappointed to not have had the opportunity to continue the work we’ve begun, I know it’s in the best interest of the organization for me to s...

Private Louisiana zoo claims federal seizure of ailing giraffe wasn’t justified

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:51 GMT

ETHEL, La. (AP) — A private Louisiana zoo says that federal regulators overreached last week when they took away an ailing giraffe.Local news outlets report that Barn Hill Preserve, which markets close-up encounters with exotic animals, is challenging the decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to seize a giraffe named Brazos on Tuesday.Leaders of the zoo, which also operates a location in Frankford, Delaware, told local news outlets that the department had “no warrant, no ruling, no judgment, and no oversight” when inspectors took the giraffe. Barn Hill’s Louisiana location is in Ethel, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Baton Rouge. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says inspectors documented “continued failure” to provide adequate veterinary care, “resulting in a state of unrelieved suffering for the identified animal.”Barn Hill said it’s being unfairly retaliated against for notifying the USDA that the giraffe was in poor health. The c...